WEST POINT, Miss. (Sept. 30, 2013) – Senior Sian Evans (Gillingham, England) and junior Gabriella Wahl (Heidenheim, Germany) carded scores of even-par 72 to tie for eighth place and lead the ETSU women’s golf team during first round play Monday in the Old Waverly Bulldog Invitational hosted at the Old Waverly Golf Club.

While Evans and Wahl posted strong efforts, the Bucs were unable to get the consistent team play they have enjoyed so far this season, and ultimately finished with an overall score of 12-over-par 300 to place sixth on the team leaderboard. ETSU trails first-place and host Mississippi State by 19 strokes, as the Bulldogs ended the day at 7-under-par 281 and sit eight strokes better than second-place East Carolina.

“This was obviously not the start we wanted as a team, but we have two days and a lot of golf to play,” said ETSU head coach Stefanie Shelton. “Sian and Gabriella continue to play well.”

On the individual leaderboard, Mississippi State’s Ally McDonald and Jessica Peng are first and second, respectively, with McDonald carding a 5-under-par 67 and Peng finishing at 3-under 69.

Other ETSU results included a 3-over-par 75 from senior Lourdes Lopez (Cadiz, Spain), which was good enough to tie for 22nd. Meanwhile, sophomore Vivienne Chin (Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Malaysia) and junior Larissa Steinfeldt (Eschweiler, Germany) are tied for 47th and 54th, individually.

ETSU will continue with second round action on Tuesday, followed by third and final round play on Wednesday. Fans can watch live scoring by visiting BirdieFire.com and clicking on the tournament link, while ETSUBucs.com will provide a full report following each day’s play.

For more on ETSU women’s golf throughout the 2013-14 season, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s golf link.